DFA summons Chinese ambassador over China actions in West PHL Sea - GMA News

Manila on Tuesday issued formal protests on China’s plan to set up a military garrison in the West Philippine Sea, as well as the presence of Chinese fishing boats and a military ship in two reefs within Philippine territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
 
Chinese Ambassador to Manila Ma Keqing was summoned Tuesday morning to the DFA where she was handed two diplomatic notes conveying the Philippine government’s displeasure over China’s continued disregard for international law and fresh attempts to control nearly the entire West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.
 
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said China is planning to establish the garrison in Woody Reef, which falls within the country’s territorial waters.
 
The garrison, according to China, will be responsible for “national defense mobilization” and “military operations” of its newly established city called Sansha.
 
Sansha cover a wide expanse of the West Philippine Sea, overlapping with Manila’s and other South East Asian countries’ sovereign territories.
 
Manila does not recognize Sansha’s control over the West Philippine Sea, saying the jurisdiction of the city violates Philippine territorial sovereignty and infringes upon its sovereign rights.
 
Sansha puts under its jurisdiction over 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the West Philippine Sea, including the cluster of islands and atolls further south called the Spratlys. China also placed Manila-claimed territories like the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, where the two Asian nations recently figured in a tense standoff, under Sansha jurisdiction.
 
Hernandez maintained that KIG is an integral part of Philippine territory, which falls within the municipality of Palawan’s Kalayaan Province.

“For this reason, the Philippines does not recognize Sansha City and the extent of its jurisdiction, and considers recent measures taken by China as unacceptable,” he said.
 
Manila also cited the deployment of 29 Chinese fishing boats, a cargo vessel and two maritime ships near Philippine reef Kagitingan, and the presence of a Chinese warship with bow number 934 within the vicinity of Zamora â€" another Philippine reef â€" on July 18.
 
Kagitingan and Zamora are part of the KIG, Hernandez noted. “The use of armed government vessels to escort fishing vessels that conduct non-fishing activities is a violation of Philippine territory and a violation of obligation of states under international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the peaceful uses of the seas,” Hernandez said.
 
Hernandez called on China “to fully and sincerely abide by the spirit and letter” of the ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC, a non-binding code of conduct that discourages aggressive actions and construction of new structures in the contested waters that could spark armed conflicts.
 
China virtually claims the entire West Philippine Sea, dotted with clusters of islands, cays, shoals and reefs and fishing areas teeming with marine life.

ASEAN members â€" Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei â€" and Taiwan also have rival claims to the sea, supposedly rich in oil and gas and regarded as among the world’s strategic and busiest waterways.
 
“We hope that China â€" as a responsible country â€" will exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability in the region,” Hernandez said. â€" VS/HS, GMA News